Bingxin took some blood samples for testing while I brought out the Echolocation Rod and listened to the victim’s chest and abdominal cavity. The victims’ internal organs were relatively intact. There was a large amount of water in the lungs but strangely enough, there was no fluid in the stomach.
I checked their fingernails and found only gravel—the victims clenched their fists, resembling eagle claws. Logically speaking, drowning victims should have mud under their fingernails but I found nothing of the sort.
I opened one of the victim’s mouths and shook the teeth with my hands but they remained secure and didn’t give. There were fibers inside the first victim’s nasal cavity.
"This whole drowning incident is very strange. Some of the characteristics match and some don’t,” I surmised. “Did the victims stay in their hotel room the entire time?"
"The hotel staff testified on that. They checked into the room at about 8:00 am and never left. During their stay, they ordered lunch, and the delivery staff also confirmed there were two people in the room. Their bodies were found around 2:00 pm. From noon till then, the front desk staff never left their posts."
I nodded and carefully sniffed at the bodies, though I found no obvious odors.
Even if they went out at noon and were knocked unconscious, thrown into water as soon as they left the room, the time wasn’t enough to produce such an appearance!
I gathered the aquatic plants in their hair and scrutinized them. "These aquatic plants resemble the ones on Zhang Bing’s body. It’s a kind of moss that some people put in their fish tanks for decoration."
"There’s a fish tank in the hotel lobby but it’s unlikely for them to have drowned there,” added Xiaotao.
"These aquatic plants were intentionally placed by someone. Look, they were arranged rather evenly,” I pointed out. “I think the murderer deliberately created the illusion of drowning, but he failed to mislead us. What does he want to convey or what is he hiding?"
"I heard Bingxin mention that the ghost bus is related to water. Tell me more!"
Despite my unwillingness to connect the case to the paranormal, these three victims had all boarded the ghost bus last night so it seemed this connection could no longer be ignored. Thus, I gave Xiaotao a general account of the post I read yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, Xiaotao said, "I think we should investigate this bus of unknown origins."
"Go ahead!" I concurred.
While Xiaotao made a phone call to assign officers to the task, Bingxin entered the workshop once more, gushing excitedly, "Song Yang-gege, the second victim’s white blood cell count is on the high end, which far exceeds the norm."
"What does this mean?"
Pondering for a moment, Bingxin replied, "I recall that white blood cell count increases during electrocution."
My frown gradually eased. "That seems about right. The burn marks on the second victim’s abdomen were left by a stun gun. Let’s try restoring the incident..."
I proceeded to an empty space and pointed, "Suppose this is the door. The murderer knocks on the door and the second victim comes to open the door. He knocks her unconscious with a stun gun and rushes in at once! The first victim must be very alarmed. When the murderer orders her to turn around, she complies. Then, the murderer takes out his mace and hits her on the back of the head. He walks over to the second victim and does the same."
"The two suffered a severe blow to the medulla oblongata,” I concluded as I moved to a different position. “They were unconscious and unable to move. The murderer placed them in bed and removed their clothes. Earlier, you mentioned there was no sign of sexual assault. Let me correct you on that—we can only confirm there wasn’t rape. Why did the killer remove their clothes? In order to create the illusion of drowning, I suspect the murderer must have sprinkled some sort of liquid onto the victims that soon resulted in traces of being submerged in water. Just like in ancient Chinese water torture, he covered their faces with several sheets of paper and continuously poured water. Inhaling a large amount of water, the victims eventually suffocated to death."
"How do you know the murderer used paper?" asked Xiaotao.
"The first victim had a small piece of paper fiber in his nasal cavity. During the autopsy, I deduced it was possibly A4 paper or something else."
"How did the murderer create the illusion of soaked skin?" asked Bingxin.
I shook my head, "Lab tests happen to be my weakness. I'll leave that to you."
"Okay, you specified that the victims weren’t raped. Were they sexually assaulted then?" she added.
“You can say that!"
I opened the Autopsy Umbrella and adjusted the light so that the umbrella’s shadow fell upon the victims. Messy handprints appeared on their pale skin, especially on the breasts. The two girls gasped in astonishment.
There were no ridges on these prints, which suggested the murderer was cautious enough to wear gloves.
I compared the handprints and found the murderer’s palm wide and thick, like the hands one would see in a man engaged in heavy manual labor. I estimated the murderer to be about forty or fifty years of age. The sexual assault was most likely an afterthought. The murderer felt the urge to fondle their breasts after seeing them naked. I didn't believe anyone would kill just to molest their breasts.
A picture of the murderer’s characteristics gradually formed in my head. "The murderer may have a criminal record. He’s restrained and composed, and not highly educated. He probably works as a carpenter, foreman or a tailor, though I believe it’s most likely to be the second one!"
Xiaotao's eyes widened in surprise, "How can you tell? Is it the mace?"
"No,” I chuckled. “The murderer is a perfect executor to be able to plan and execute everything down to a T! His goal was to create the illusion that the victims had drowned. Although there were many flaws from a professional perspective, it’s still an overall success. So I deduced he was either a carpenter, foreman or a tailor. Since foremen have the best physical strength, that was the most likely occupation!"
"That makes sense," smiled Xiaotao.
After examining the bodies, I burned two stacks of yellow joss paper as usual. Bingxin took samples of the victims’ skin and tested them. Just as I was about to leave, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. "By the way, where are their belongings?"
"Their clothes were tucked under the bed by the murderer,” reported Xiaotao. “One of the victims’ cell phones, a Huawei, was thrown into the toilet. It’s no longer operable. The other, an Apple iPhone, had the SIM card removed and taken away by the murderer."
"So it looks like the murderer is of average economic conditions," I remarked.
Xiaotao nodded, "I've asked officers to pay close attention to the black market to look out for anyone who has recently sold Apple phones."
Worry clenched at my gut; if these serial murders were really related to ghost bus, then the one in most danger was none other than Luo Youyou, whose whereabouts were unknown. I could only silently pray that I was mistaken.
"Please help me locate this cell phone number!" I said, asking Xiaotao to check Luo Youyou’s position.
Luo Youyou’s cell phone was now turned off so she couldn’t be located. Xiaotao phoned the telecommunications department to check her call records for the day. There were only three, one from Dali, one from the railway station and an unfamiliar number. It seemed she had really purchased a train ticket.
The last number belonged to Zhou Yang, indicating that he had recently called her.
I didn't think Luo Youyou would actually meet up with Zhou Yang. After all, she wasn’t that sort of girl. My fear was her accidental involvement in this case. I pointed to Zhou Yang's number and said, "Check this number!"
The technical officer typed away on his keyboard for a while and reported, "It's also turned off!"
"What's going on?” Xiaotao frowned. “Why are both of their cell phones turned off?"
I had two conjectures–they were either currently together and Luo Youyou had moved onto Zhou Yang, or their lives were in danger.
I would rather believe in the former!